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Voters from Mara Island get lift from Coast Guard to cast their ballots

Published: 03 Jun. 2025, 19:11

The Jeju Seogwipo Coast Guard transport residents of Marado, the southernmost island of Korea, to the mainland to help them vote for the June 3 presidential election. [JEJU SEOGWIPO COAST GUARD]

Talk about dedication — Residents of Mara Island, the small southernmost island in Korea, cast their ballots on Tuesday with help from the Jeju Coast Guard, which provided emergency transport via an inshore patrol boat.

The Seogwipo branch of the Jeju Coast Guard announced that it deployed the patrol vessel from the Hwasun substation on Tuesday, the day of the 21st presidential election, to ensure that four eligible voters residing on the island could exercise their voting rights.

The four had originally planned to take a scheduled passenger ferry connecting Mara Island to the mainland, disembark at either Moseulpo or Unjin Port and then cast their ballots at the polling station inside the gymnasium of Daejeong Girls’ High School in Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo. However, the ferry was canceled due to high swells, cutting off all maritime routes.

In response, the Coast Guard urgently dispatched the inshore patrol boat to the island, picked up the four voters and brought them to Hwasun Port at around 3:30 p.m., from where they were transported to the polling station.

According to the Daejeong-eup office in Seogwipo, 83 people were officially registered as residents of Mara Island as of Monday, with 77 of them eligible to vote. Most residents had already cast their ballots during the early voting period.

The Jeju Seogwipo Coast Guard transport residents of Marado, the southernmost island of Korea, to the mainland to help them vote for the June 3 presidential election. [JEJU SEOGWIPO COAST GUARD]

Mara Island does not have its own polling station due to the small number of eligible voters and even fewer actual residents. Voters living on the island must travel to the mainland each election to cast their ballots.

During the 19th presidential election in 2017, nearly half of the roughly 50 actual residents were unable to vote due to ferry service suspensions caused by poor weather conditions.

In the 2016 general election held on April 13 and the 2014 local elections on June 4, residents were also stranded due to rough seas but managed to leave the island and vote later in the day.

For the 18th presidential election in 2012, a high seas advisory around Mara Island halted ferry services for two days prior to Election Day. However, the advisory was lifted early on Election Day, allowing residents to cast their votes.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]